VIVA Gallery’s monthly First Thursday artist reception will be held on May 7 and will
feature the relief and intaglio prints of Viroqua artist Fran Knapp. A true child of nature, Fran spent
most of her youth outdoors, roaming the hills and valleys and exploring the creeks close to her home in
the Driftless Area. Her return to the area inspired the series of prints on exhibit, an homage to her
childhood wanderings and observations. The collection, says Fran, “breaks down the separation
between humans and other creatures of nature in a dreamlike narrative, and encourages us to recognize
the positive characteristics of the animal world in our own beings.”
Fran was born and raised on a farm outside LaFarge, and attended Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School and Youth Initiative High School. She continued her art studies at the University of Minnesota Morris and completed her BA in Art at the University of Southern Oregon in Ashland. Her emphasis was on printmaking. After graduation, Fran moved to Portland where she worked as an art instructor for adults with developmental disabilities. She returned to the Driftless Area in 2014.
Fran was born and raised on a farm outside LaFarge, and attended Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School and Youth Initiative High School. She continued her art studies at the University of Minnesota Morris and completed her BA in Art at the University of Southern Oregon in Ashland. Her emphasis was on printmaking. After graduation, Fran moved to Portland where she worked as an art instructor for adults with developmental disabilities. She returned to the Driftless Area in 2014.
